DC tour ideas

Michael

Michael

Pattern Altitude
Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Messages
1,735
Location
Cape Cod, MA
Display Name
Display name:
CapeCodMichael
Tomorrow we hit DC. The plan so far is the Smithsonian on Friday and the capital and white house on Saturday, We also plan to visit the Vietnam memorial.
Time permitting, What else is a must see in DC?
And if anyone wants a name etched from the Vietnam wall, PM me the name and your address, Ill etch it and send it to you when we get back.

So far we have done:
Boston
Hyannis
Hampton Beach
Kennebunkport
Manchester
Walpole
Cap Cod
NYC
Philadelphia (Thanks Adam)
Aberdeen
---tomorrow DC---

Way fun trip so far. Adam was a great host to us today. We have tons of pictures and will post some when we return home on Sunday.
 
National Cathedral
Library of Congress
Arlington National Cemetery
 
Aberdeen? Man you guys didn't get to far huh. I'd go with the
Hazy-Udvar
Smithsonian Museum of Americana

If you don't have tix for the White house already fuggedaboudit just drive by. Walk the mall. The Capital is very cool as well.
 
Sounds like a pretty awesome honeymoon to enjoy. I'm envious of all the places you're seeing. Have fun up there!

Oh, be sure to have a bottle of Scotch on hand in case you come across Teddy. :)
 
Michael, I'm free for dinner tomorrow but the rest of the weekend is completely booked! Will you be free tomorrow night?

How do you feel about Ethiopean? It's really good, not something you'd find (easily) outside of DC or NY and we have LOTS of Ethiopean restos here (many folks immigrated here). I just sent our visiting Mexico colleagues there since likewise they won't find that in Mexico.

I'd add the FDR Memorial, not too far from the Mall, to your list. You can walk there from the Mall - a little bit of a hike but not too bad - it's just about my favorite memorial. Just walking the Mall is a great idea and you will hit up most of the other memorials. And of course the Smithsonian is there.

For good food, not far from the Museums, try the Penn Quarter area. Teaism is a good lunch place - 400 8th Street NW - and across the street is Cafe Atlantico which is REALLY good. Good drinks too. When you are on the Mall and get to 7th or 9th street, just head north for a few blocks. (i.e. leave the Mall). That whole area is Penn Quarter and there are lots of good places to eat. There is bupkiss on the Mall (unless you want to eat at the Museuma cafeterias) so I would suggest just heading there at lunch time.

ps. also up in Penn Quarter are the Archives/Navy Memorial. I would imagine it is open on Friday, maybe Saturday too - the last time I was there they had a really cool movie (not quite IMAX but still pretty awesome) on carrier landings and the like. No idea if it is still there. Worth a look anyway.
 
Last edited:
I second the National Cathedral. It's absolutely amazing.

Additionally, we did a night bus tour and enjoyed it. It hits all of the major monuments, so it's nice to get them out of the way.
 
another thought:

There is a DC Duck which looks like a lot of fun. It is a tour bus that is amphibious, it will occasionally take a dip in the water. I've seen it near National Airport (if the planes are landing, what a treat!) and it just toodles into the water. This is also neat since it's a piece of history - the DUKWs were used in WWII.

http://www.historictours.com/washington/LandSea Tours.htm

also try to see Arlington Cemetery.

I'd also highly suggest visiting the park at the end of National's runway - Gravelly Point. I used to live down there and spent many evenings in the park watching the planes land. They are RIGHT over your head. fabulous place to visit.
 
woodstock said:
Michael, I'm free for dinner tomorrow but the rest of the weekend is completely booked! Will you be free tomorrow night?
Click to expand...
Would that be Friday or Saturday, we leave Saturday evening. If tonight, that would be great.

woodstock said:
How do you feel about Ethiopean?
Click to expand...
I am not that brave. Unless i can recognize or even pronounce the food I am about to eat...it aint happening. :)
Whats DC known for? Anything? We have had Maine Lobster, Phiily cheesesteaks......
 
Michael said:
Would that be Friday or Saturday, we leave Saturday evening. If tonight, that would be great.

I am not that brave. Unless i can recognize or even pronounce the food I am about to eat...it aint happening. :)
Whats DC known for? Anything? We have had Maine Lobster, Phiily cheesesteaks......
Click to expand...

Tonight will work. let me think about this... one thing we COULD consider.. there are some nice restaurants in Crystal City, which is right across the river from DC. Either before or after dinner we could zoom over to that park I told you about, at the end of National's runway. If the winds are right and the planes are landing in that direction, it's an amazing experience.

As a bonus, if you don't want to drive to Crystal City, you could hop the metro and it drops you right there. I could meet you after work - hopefully around 6, 630 - traffic dependent and I also have negotiations this afternoon on a large deal... I can try to put a time limit on the call though.
 
woodstock said:
Tonight will work. let me think about this... one thing we COULD consider.. there are some nice restaurants in Crystal City, which is right across the river from DC. Either before or after dinner we could zoom over to that park I told you about, at the end of National's runway. If the winds are right and the planes are landing in that direction, it's an amazing experience.

As a bonus, if you don't want to drive to Crystal City, you could hop the metro and it drops you right there. I could meet you after work - hopefully around 6, 630 - traffic dependent and I also have negotiations this afternoon on a large deal... I can try to put a time limit on the call though.
Click to expand...

Great Beth, You have my number. Give me a call when you get some time today. We are planning on driving to a metro station and taking a blue train to the Smithsonian today. and then looking for a hotel for tonight.
 
Michael said:
Would that be Friday or Saturday, we leave Saturday evening. If tonight, that would be great.

I am not that brave. Unless i can recognize or even pronounce the food I am about to eat...it aint happening. :)
Whats DC known for? Anything? We have had Maine Lobster, Phiily cheesesteaks......
Click to expand...

Tonight will work. let me think about this... one thing we COULD consider.. there are some nice restaurants in Crystal City, which is right across the river from DC. Either before or after dinner we could zoom over to that park I told you about, at the end of National's runway. If the winds are right and the planes are landing in that direction, it's an amazing experience.

As a bonus, if you don't want to drive to Crystal City, you could hop the metro and it drops you right there. I could meet you after work - hopefully around 6, 630 - traffic dependent and I also have negotiations this afternoon on a large deal... I can try to put a time limit on the call though.

As far as what DC is known for... hmmm. It's an international city so I'd say it's known for having a wide variety of cuisine I guess. I can't think of anything specific off the top of my head.
 
Hazy-Udvar...is that the Smithsonian air and space museum or a different one?
 
I also really like the Ford's theater and museum, there is the spy museum, plus try to get into the White House. There are some set tours so check the web site. It is worth it.
 
Michael said:
Hazy-Udvar...is that the Smithsonian air and space museum or a different one?
Click to expand...

There are two Smith. Air and Space Museums. The original (downtown), and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, which is in a huge hanger out at Dulles International.

Even being a pilot I could easily get through the original (downtown) in a half day. There is a LOT of really cool stuff there (seeing the original Wright Flyer is unreal), but it is VERY dated and there are sections that just aren't relevant anymore. Hit the high points and be fine with not seeing everything. I can't speak for Udvar-Hazy as I wasn't able to make it out there...but I do know that they have some great stuff out there (such as the Space Shuttle Enterprise).
 
Oh, make sure you get to the National Archive to see The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. If you just hit that one room in the building (at the right time of day) you can do it all in an hour. It's worth it just to look at the documents.
 
woodstock said:
Tonight will work. let me think about this... one thing we COULD consider.. there are some nice restaurants in Crystal City, which is right across the river from DC.
Click to expand...

Beth,

There's a pretty good Greek place on the west side of Rt. 1 in Crystal City. As best I recall, it's on the back side of the row of shops on the north side of 23rd street. There are the plethora of chains: Legal Seafoods, McCormick & Schmick, etc. There is (or was) a restaurant at the marina just south of DCA, right along the GW Parkway. The food is so-so, but it's a pretty nice view. There's some stuff over at Pentagon City, too...

Bill
 
My friends own 3 restos in Pentagon City - I thought of that, but CC is right where they are staying and then we can go check out the airport park. That may be an option though, to go to one of theirs.

CC has built up a lot in the past few years - many many good new places - non-chainy.
 
woodstock said:
My friends own 3 restos in Pentagon City - I thought of that, but CC is right where they are staying and then we can go check out the airport park. That may be an option though, to go to one of theirs.

CC has built up a lot in the past few years - many many good new places - non-chainy.
Click to expand...
We know how you feel about chains! LOL

Michael, you really missed out not going Ethiopian. Some great food. Leslie make a doro wat and a faux injera bread that's wonderful! Throw in some zil-zil tibs and I'm in heaven!

Some definitions:

[SIZE=-1]Zil-zil Tibs. Finger length strips of tender prime beef seasoned with rosemary and green pepper then rapidly grilled in seasoned vegetable oil, with or without garlic.

[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]Chicken Stewed in Red Pepper Paste. Doro Wat.

[/SIZE] injera, a spongy flat bread made from the millet-like grain known as teff.
[SIZE=-1]

[/SIZE]
 
Pictures Michael please.........Sounds like you guys are having a blast!
 
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

Sorry I could not meet up with you on Thur. but I was still stuck in Vegas.
 
woodstock said:
My friends own 3 restos in Pentagon City - I thought of that, but CC is right where they are staying and then we can go check out the airport park. That may be an option though, to go to one of theirs.

CC has built up a lot in the past few years - many many good new places - non-chainy.
Click to expand...

Good to know. I didn't venture much beyond the non-chain greek place on my last stop thorough there.
 
woodstock said:
Did you guys make it there, on Saturday?
Click to expand...

We Did!!
Excellent suggestion. I never would have known it was there. I liked it much better than the Air and Space museum.
A must see in the DC area.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top